MY SEDUCTION

Author: Connie Brockway ISBN: 0743463226 5/2004 HISTORICAL Publisher: Pocket Books
Time Period: Regency era Scotland

Desperate to keep her two sisters and herself from the poorhouse, Kate Nash Blackburn embarks upon a journey to northern Scotland, where she hopes to gain the gratitude and patronage of a wealthy marquis. When fate maroons her at a tavern full of ruffians, a brawny Highland soldier comes to her rescue. It's Kit MacNeill, the man whose pledge to her family has haunted her for years. When he offers to escort Kate through the treacherous Highlands to Castle Parnell, she accepts even though her instincts warn her against trusting this rough and dangerous man. But soon Kate is startled by the Highlander's cultured speech and courtly manners. Who is this man of contradictions, shaped by a shadowy past, who fiercely wards off an attempt on her life, whose broad shoulders beckon her touch, and in whose arms she comes fully alive?

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

MY SEDUCTION, by Connie Brockway, is perfect in every way. Intrigue and mystery, longing and denial, scandal and peril are abundant in this witty and warm Scottish starter of The Rose Hunter novels. Usually I am hard pressed to find something I cannot put down, but this one was an "all-night" read. I am sure the subsequent books will be just as good.

The hero, Kit MacNeil, is a tortured (yummy) and brooding Scotsman trying to uncover a betrayer and fullfill a promise he made years ago. His unsuspected soft-side materializes only when he is trying to seduce and protect the heroine. She, Kate Nash, is a lady down on her luck, forced to seek out the kindness of strangers and distant relatives when she is abandoned by her maid in an unscrupulous tavern. Trouble finds them both, for someone from Kit's past is determined to end his revenge quest for good.

I am always loathe to give too much away when I do these reviews, and am hard pressed not to gush about this one. I have to mention that Kit and his group of unikely friends were trained by monks "supposedly" to become knights. As punishment for misbehaving the monks had the boys caring for roses. It may not sound like much now, but working with those roses came in handy for spying on Napoleon's wife and getting themselves imprisoned. That is only the tip of the iceberg for this developing saga.

I am so eagerly awaiting the next in this series (this one is a cliff-hanger) that I will no doubt read, MY SEDUCTION, several more times before it comes out!

Shannon Johnson